Bob Jeffers founded Allen-Jeffers Associates, a medical device and pharmaceutical industry recruitment company in Irvine, CA, in 1978, after working his way up the ladder to become a technical superintendent of manufacturing for American Hospital Supply Corp. in Glendale, CA, and serving as a plant manager at C.R. Bard. He’s helped companies including Edwards (before it was Edwards Lifesciences), GE, and Philips, as well as numerous start-ups, find medtech employees to suit their needs.

Jeffers recently spoke with with MD+DI about which medtech jobs are in demand, which medtech jobs are in demand, which positions are paying well, start-ups vs. established firms, and how to land a job in the industry.

MD+DI: Are certain regions in the United States stronger than others in terms of the number or types of medtech positions available?

Jeffers: California is losing a lot of businesses. Texas is growing, so you’ve got that. There are a lot of people who either can’t or won’t make the transition to Texas or to the South. Another area, Boston, is a mini-burgeoning area, I would say, for biotech [with] a lot of little start-ups. The Bay Area has always been on-again, off-again. California itself has some issues with high cost of living and high taxation. That’s a bit of a problem right there.

Southern California is pretty much recognized for medical devices. When you go down south to San Diego, they’re more of biotech in terms of devices, pharmaceuticals, and that type of thing. The Bay Area is a mix of the two as well. In between there there’s not a whole lot. There are specific areas where medical devices may have a presence.  

John Conroy is a frequent contributor to MD+DI. Reach him at [email protected]

[image courtesy of STUART MILES/FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET]